Concrete cities stay warmer at night but cooler at dawn
While urban centers act as giant heat batteries, the same concrete that traps warmth all night allows the city to cool faster than the countryside once the sun rises.
In cities like Istanbul, the heavy concrete architecture acts as a thermal mass, soaking up solar energy during the day and releasing it slowly after sunset. This phenomenon, known as the urban heat island effect, keeps metropolitan streets significantly warmer than rural areas at midnight. However, at the break of dawn, the trend reverses. Because concrete radiates heat away more efficiently than moist soil or vegetation, city temperatures can actually drop two degrees Celsius below the neighboring countryside just before sunrise.
There's more to this story — open the app to keep reading.